Improvement in horseshoes



` Ilary horseshoe.

Nrra STATES ATENT Fries..

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSESHOES.

Specilicalion forming part of Letters Patent No. 28,656, dated Juuc l2, 1860.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern/f Beit known that I, THOMAS M.' COLEMAN, of the city and county of Philadelphia, and

State of Pennsylvania, have invented a newl My invention relates to an improvement in that class of horseshoes in which an elastic medium is used for absorbing and diminishing the effect of the shocks caused by the repeated descent of the shoe on the hard ground; and my improvement consists in forming the shoe of two plates permanently secured together withL an intervening strip of gum-elastic or other equivalent material, the latter, as well as the lower plate, having slots or recesses so arranged in respect to the nail-holes of the upper plate that the entire shoe may be fastened rigidly to the hoof by simply driving in the nails, the heads of which bear against the upper plate only, thereby avoiding the necessity of detaching the lower plate prior to securing the shoe to the hoof, as in some shoes of this class, and avoiding the intervention of the elastic material between the heads of the nails and the hoof, as in other yielding horseshoes.

The object of my invention is to form a shoe having all the advantages of an elastic medium for absorbing the shocks without the disadvantages which have been hitherto experienced in the use of the same material in connection with horseshoes, as fully described hereinafter.

In order to enable others to make and apply my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an end view of my improved horseshoe; Fig. 2, a plan view of the upper plate; Fig. 3, an inverted plan View of the shoe, and Fig. 4 a vertical section on the line l 2, Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

My improved horseshoe consists of the upper plate, A, the lower plate, B, and the strip C of gum-elastic or other equivalent material,

both the pla-tes and the intervening elastic strip being in form similar to that of an ordi- The upper plate, A, has the usual holes, a., for receiving the nails, and the edge of the lower plate is recessed at points b b, coinciding with the nail-holes of the upper plate, A, the recesses being sufficiently large for the free admission of the heads of the nails. The edge of the elastic intervening strip C has also recesses which coincide with those of the lower plate. The two plates, with the intervening strip, are permanently connected together by any convenient number of plain or screwed rivets, e.

Insecuring the shoe to the hoof the nails are driven with their shoulders tight against the under side of the upper plate, the heads being contained in the recesses b b of the lower plate and elastic strip, so that C independently of the rivets or screws e e) they serve to maintain the two plates in their proper relative position.

I am aware that elastic material has heretofore been used, in connection with horseshoes, for the purpose of absorbing and diminishing the effect of the shock caused by the sudden descent of the foot of the horse onto the hard ground. In some instances an elastic medium has been used between the hoof and a solid shoe, and in others it has been confined within an angular slit in the heels of the shoe. In others, again, an elastic strip has been placed between two plates; but the upper plate has been nailed to the hoof prior to the application of the elastic strip and lower plate, the latter being secured by detachable screws. rIhe whole of these plans are objectionable, the first on account of the difficulty of retaining the shoe in its proper position, the heads of the nails having no permanent bearing, and being apt to work loose, the second yfor the reason that the elastic material is placed so far back from the point where the shoe iirst touches the ground that it has little or none of the desired effect of diminishingthe effect of the shock. As to the third plan, it will be evident that the operation of fastening the shoe is a tedious one, as the upper plate has to be secured to the hoof prior to the adjustment of the elastic strip and lower plate. Moreover, screws or other equivalent detachable fastenings, which are necessary in this instance, are a-pt to work loose, owing to the repeated blows of the shoe on the ground. These defects are remedied by my improvement. The upper plate only being secured to e esatte the hoof, and this by nails whose heads are independent of the lower plate and the elastic materials, the nails will remain tight, and thc entire shoe be as securely attached to the hoof as any ordinary solid shoe.

It will be evident that the defects of the third plan are obviated by my improvement, for the two plates are permanently riveted t0- gether, the whole forming an entire shoe, which can be secured to the hoof by simply driving` in the nails as readily as an ordinary.

solid shoe, the recesses of the lower plate and i, elastic material enablingme to drive the heads of the nails tight against the under side of the plate, by which means only can a shoe with elastic material be made to retain a permanent hold of the hoof.

I wish it to be understood, therefore, that I do not claim, broadly, the intervention of elastie materialbetween the shoe and the hoof; nor do I claim elastic material between two plates,

VVdriving the nails andwithout separating the Y Y plates.

In testimony whereof` Ihave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS M. COLEMAN.

Vvitnesses:

HENRY HowsoN, CHARLES D. FREEMAN. 

